Durkin on appeal of Maryland, lessons from former bosses, Under Armour and more

D.J. Durkin made his first public appearance as Maryland head coach Thursday and covered a variety of topics.

Here's a rundown of what the new Terps head man had to say about growing up in football-mad northeast Ohio, working with Jim Harbaugh and Urban Meyer, what drew him to Maryland and more.

* Durkin said he identifies with Maryland because it is a "blue-collar program." Sounding much like former boss Harbaugh, he said he expects his people to be aggressive in everything they do.

* He knows he is taking over a team that plays in one of the best conference divisions in the country, but he embraces competition and wants to find players who do the same. "People will make places what they are."

* Durkin stressed the importance of having everyone in the organization in alignment. Everyone needs to understand the direction of the team. He did not say so, but this is a key philosophy of Meyer, for whom Durkin worked at both Bowling Green and Florida.

* During his opening statement, he mentioned learning the value of "out-efforting" people while growing up in Youngstown, Ohio. Later he called the area he grew up a place with a blue-collar mentality and said he learned the value of hard work. "You've got to earn your keep." The Boardman High School grad credited his parents for that and also mentioned he worked for a construction company.

* Asked what made the Maryland job attractive to him, he replied, "The attraction of this job is I think there is already good talent in the building and right in our backyard is one of the richest talent areas in the country." His job is to keep as many of those guys home as he can, and being in a place with a lot of hometown talent is a huge advantage.

* He is going to be "deliberate" in putting together his staff and did not say what the status of interim coach Mike Locksley might be. Locksley was the team's offensive coordinator and has a reputation as a strong recruiter of the area.

* Asked about what he took from working with Harbaugh and Meyer, he said the value of putting your own stamp on a program.

* He won't be coaching the Michigan defense for the Wolverines' bowl game because it's too hard to double-up duties.

* He called recruiting, "one of those things you've got to do every single day. You've got to be relentless and tireless about it." He stressed the important of being honest and straightforward with recruits.

* Durkin said competitiveness translates to everything, so he will stress finding competitive guys in recruiting. That is what determines different outcomes for guys whether or not they are five-star recruits or walk-ons. He is going to be looking for players "who will fight and scrap to get to the top," "guys who embrace competition and savor adversity" and "want to go do great things."

* He isn't sure where his famous abundance of energy comes from, but he has always been that way.

* Asked how he will keep great players from the area home, he said recruiting is all about relationships. He plans to start on day one being consistent about who he is and building relationships.

* He didn't want to get into schematics but said he has a clear vision of the type of offensive attack that gives his defenses the most problems and will look for an offensive coordinator to deliver that.

* He called the school's connection to Under Armour via founder Kevin Plank, "one of those unique relationships in the country," and agreed he sees it as something he can use in recruiting.